


Extra Charge

by TorikagoNoDouwa



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: March Hare Reader, Nonbinary Character, Other, Wonderland (Once Upon a Time), i guess, they/them pronouns for reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24560890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorikagoNoDouwa/pseuds/TorikagoNoDouwa
Summary: Once trapped in Wonderland, they signed a contract with the Dark One to escape. Now, Rumplestiltskin is back to claim his share.
Relationships: Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	Extra Charge

**Author's Note:**

> Yo! This has been sitting on my Google doc draft for long. It's un-beta'd, don't kill me if you see any mistake, my French ass won't like it. Enjoy some menacing Rumple!

“Think you can run away for long, dearie ?” 

Heavy footsteps still. In the woods, there is only the sound of their breathing and the small cackle of the Dark One. This laughter has haunted more people than they can count, in this realm or anywhere else, he remains with his eyes focused on his prey, his crocodile smile stretching on his face. 

“Do you have a better idea ?” They say breathlessly. 

That cackle again. “Oh, there’s always another way. All you have to do is say the word.” 

Because it's so easy isn’t it? It’s magic. They know about his powers, they know about the despair and disarray what a simple deal can bring with just some ink on a paper scroll. But the only magic they acknowledge is time; time can do wonders, time can unleash darkness, time can bring light through the mist. And time, they need right now. 

“Don’t waste what’s precious, I’ve already lost so much to you.” They begin walking again when in a puff of purple smoke, he appears in front of them.

“Now now, that’s plenty rude, dear.” Then they hear it, the sound of riding horses and clinking armours.

“You getting out of my way would be deeply appreciated.” They try to get past him but the bugger keeps coming back in a magical haze. Now, this is becoming a little unnerving. 

“You are not giving me a choice, rat.” They hiss. The noise is closer and that laugh doesn’t lessen. 

“I do but you owe me, little one, so say the word.” 

They panic. They truly do when their existence hangs between life imprisonment or life commitment to a lunatic. And it says a lot coming from them. Blimey, time is running out again isn’t it? 

“Alright, rat. Take me, take what you need from me.” Just with that, they disappear. Only to feel the mossy soil vanish and suddenly, the marble floor echoes under their feet. They stumble. 

They haven’t missed this place, that’s for certain. His castle sure seems lovely on the outside though it carries a heavy smell of rot as soon as you pass the threshold. The spinning wheel still in place, the room still messy with vials and unlocked pots. 

“Sorry dearie, I didn’t have time to clean up.” 

They look at him. “I’ve seen worse.” 

He dares cackle again. 

“Now, where were we ?” He moves around like a breeze. “You’ve run away from me for far too long, you need to pay the price.”

“You let me run.” 

“Only because I knew you were hopping back to me.” He giggles, jumping around a little.

“I’m getting tired of this. State what you want.” And this is the main issue when you sign a contract without stating what both sides want. It’s easy to accept more when you can’t lose less. Time, always running away. 

“I need you to stop time for me.”

“Excuse me ?”

He is so close to them, they can smell his breath on their face. “You heard me, I know what you can do with that lovely pocket watch of yours.” Way too close. “Now, I need it.”

“What kind of powerful time magic you seek that the Dark One can’t afford ?” They smile.

“Well, that’s none of your concerns. What I do with what you owe me is my business.”

They are rumours about what could happen if you see the Dark One losing his smile. The air is thicker, crackling with sparkles of dark magic.

“The watch…” They shrug. “I can’t give you what I don’t have.” 

“Please don’t bother with sweet words, dearie, I know you have it here,” His hands wander on their coat teasingly, close enough to take what they want yet waiting. “I wouldn’t try to resist me if I were you.”

“Far be it for me to withstand you.” They whisper. Take care of your stuff, they say. Problem is they may have a thing for throwing possessions out of the window. “This is no lie, the watch won’t work, there’s no magic, I’m no magician.” 

“We’ll see about that.” He presents his hand. 

They genuinely cannot understand their own reluctance to give away such an old and useless object. They know what it can do, how is an entirely other question. But throwing away everything from this hell is an answer. So they hand it over. 

The smile is back, and so are the cackles. “Thank you, pet.”

The silver pocket watch is scaled, the glass is broken and they’re pretty sure that the mechanism has been drowned somehow. 

“Now, would you leave me in peace ?” They watch him wander around the room.

“Oh no, your debt isn’t fulfilled.” He turns around, the watch hanging from his hand. “You have to get it to work. There’s no magic in there.”

“I told you. I’m not a magi-” 

“That, I quite caught dearie.” That irritated smile. “What you don’t get is, this watch will only work with you.” He grabs their hand and gently puts down the watch. There isn’t the slightest change. “The magic is there,” he points at their chest, “you could do it before, you’ll do it again.” 

“Your realm doesn’t work like ours.” They spit. “Magic is different here. And even if I could grasp it, I don’t even remember what I was doing back there.”

“Well then, I guess you’re stuck here, pet.” He begins walking away like it was nothing. Anger strikes hard. 

“I can’t give you what I don’t have.” They shout and walk over to him, grabbing the back of his coat. “Find something else to take!”

He spins around with a scowl on their glistening face. He roughly grabs their jaw. “There’s something you don’t understand, dearie.” He spits the endearment. “You don’t get to ask anything. I dragged your insanity out of Wonderland, I turned you. Your life, it belongs to me.” His grip tightens. “So you better work it out, pet, because you aren’t leaving.”

He lets go. They snarl: “Then show me, rat.” They can read the surprise in his eyes. “You want me to work magic, it’s your thing. Show me magic, then maybe I’ll get it to work like before.” 

Silence. Then, a laugh. “But that’ll cost you extra charge, dearie.” He runs his fingers along their chest. “What more can you offer me, who already own your life?”

“You’ll have what you want from me and more when I’ll understand this world’s magical mechanism.” A smile grows on their lips. “Or you can take something that I own right now, which is: nothing worth your magic.” 

A dark cackle echoes inside the room.

“Believe me, there’s so much that you can offer, pet.” 

He lures over them and suddenly, they can't seem to utter a single word. The closeness is suffocating. 

“There's so much that I can take.”

Saliva runs dry into their mouth, their eyes are fixed on the Dark One's dilated pupils, it's like facing death itself. On their waistcoat, slender fingers draw patterns and the usual cackle is replaced by a low rumble. 

“Can you ?” They murmur, hoping to stay composed.

“Dearie, you have no idea.” He answers. Slowly, he begins walking around them, pacing around his prey, they can still feel his breath on the skin of their neck, on their hair. “You truly are a wonder. I'm not a blowhard but I must confess,” The pads of his fingers caress the roots of their hair. “I did a pretty good job.”

“Such conceit.” 

“Is it? It's a compliment, pet.” He laughs as they feel his nose grazing and their lips kissing their skin. “You did look cute, all fluffy ears and tail, insanity shimmering into your eyes.” More kisses. “Unconsciously begging me to get you out of this place.” They feel his serpentine tongue. “Transforming into someone new, messing up Time, laughing at people disappearing around you.” When did they close their eyes again?

“You looked beautiful.”

**Author's Note:**

> What am i doing with my life


End file.
